Owned by Norfolk County Council, Norse Group has grown to become a leading service provider for councils across England and Wales. DERIN CLARK sat down with its chief executive, Justin Galliford, to find out what the company's plans are for the future. 

Taking over as the boss of Norse Group just 12 months ago, Justin Galliford is fully aware he is steering the firm through a challenging economic period. 

The country is expected to officially be in a recession, which many finance experts believe will last well into next year and possibly longer. 

This means that businesses are gearing up for a tough 2023. 

For Mr Galliford, the key to successfully navigating what looks like will be a turbulent year is being prepared and looking ahead to the economic recovery. 

"Next year our plan is to stay stable," he said. 

"We may not grow, but we are planning to put in the infrastructure needed to successfully expand in 2024/25." 

This includes updating its back office IT systems to be able to handle its planned national expansion.

Mr Galliford said this will be a significant undertaking that will include "upgrading our finance and HR platforms". 

The company, which is fully owned by Norfolk County Council but managed separately, was set up in 1988 and originally focused on providing facilities management for Norfolk. 

It has since expanded and now provides a wide range of maintenance services for councils across England and Wales, including refuse collections, property maintenance, catering, and highway maintenance. 

In 2011, the group started offering care services and now has 36 care homes in Norfolk.

A total of 9,500 people now work for the company, with about 5,000 of its workers based in this region. 

Mr Galliford has identified providing care services as a key area of expansion for the firm. 

"We've seen an increase in demand for care," he said. 

"We can't grow in the traditional way, but will look to provide more specialised care.

"A focus will be to help people stay in their own homes for longer rather than moving to a care home." 

Along with growing its care services, Mr Galliford also highlighted supporting organisations with achieving the net zero challenge and helping councils benefit from levelling up as key areas of potential growth. 

Although the next 12 months may be a challenge, Norse Group has ambitious growth plans for the next five years, with the ultimate goal of helping to increase funding to Norfolk County Council.